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For The Athlete By The Athlete Wed, 15 Aug 2018 00:12:03 +0000enhttp://www.stack.com/assets/img/branding/logos/stack.pngSTACK Logohttp://www.stack.com
257563 Surefire Methods for Increasing Your Shooting Percentagehttp://orders.stack.com/a/3-ways-you-can-increase-your-shooting-percentage
Basi ProkofyevTue, 14 Aug 2018 13:18:00 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=2939521. Train With "All Net" Shots
Your regulation basketball rim can fit 2.5 regulation-sized basketballs inside its diameter.
By training with "all net" shots, you're essentially aiming for a smaller target. The idea is simple: If the ball hits any part of the rim or backboard, it does not count. This is a surefire way to improve accuracy and even give slight misfires a better chance at finding the bottom of the net.
Start with a stationary shooting drill where a player has to make five shots from five spots, but all-net only. This is a very effective way to improve the players' focus on each shot and to help them find where their eye line should focus during shooting. For example, do they make more all-net shots when they focus on the front of the rim? Or is it the back of the rim? Or maybe two inches down the inside of the net? Wherever it is, once a player finds what works best for them, they should continue to utilize it during training, practices and games.
This summer I did an experiment with two groups of my players. For two weeks, each group had to complete a spot-up shooting session at the end of our workouts. The goal was to make four shots from five different spots. The first and last days of training, both groups made 20 spot-up shots without any limitations. But for the 12 days in between, Group 1 could only count "all-net" shots as makes during the drill, while Group 2 could count all makes regardless of whether they hit the rim or backboard or not.
Group 1's shooting percentage ended up increasing by 3-4% more than Group 2 over those two weeks. Anecdotally, they also seemed to develop better shooting focus and an ability to lock in quicker.
Only counting only all-net shots as makes during your training or practice can elevate your typical drills and make the games much easier.

2. Improve Your Ball Pick-Up

Your "ball pick-up" is simply the act of transitioning from your dribble into your shot.
This is an often overlooked act of shooting, and improving the effectiveness and speed of your pick-up can help you create more separation for your shot and help you shoot in rhythm.
Working on the speed of your ball pick-up is simple. When you're performing stationary dribbling drills, integrate reps where you pick the ball up and bring it directly to your shooting pocket. When you're performing shooting drills, add a few dribbles to get used to the act of picking the ball up quickly and accurately. The faster you can get that ball from the dribble into your shooting pocket, the more space you'll have to shoot and the more rhythm you'll have with your shot.
One key to improving the efficiency of your ball pick-up is learning how to utilize the energy of the ball as it's coming off the floor. Allowing the ball to bounce a bit higher when you're ready to shoot will improve the speed of your pick-up and make your release smoother. The key is finding the right speed on your ball pick-up. You want it to be as quick and as efficient as possible, but not so quick that it throws you off balance and disturbs your technique.

3. Close-Range Shots With a Heavy Ball

The first two tips are appropriate for players of all ages and skill levels, but this last tip requires established shooting form and a foundation of full-body strength.
That's why I specifically recommend this to players over 14-15 years of age. But for those players who do have an establish shooting form and a more mature body, shooting close-range shots with a 3-pound basketball offers several benefits:

Faster shot release

Better wrist strength

Better ability to alter the arc of your shot as needed

With weighted ball work, your shooting distance is dictated by your shooting form. If you're really able to shoot a heavy ball from 15 feet while keeping your form, then you can work up to that. But as soon as you see your mechanics differ from your regular shot, it means you're too far away. In my experience, it takes 2-3 weeks of working on heavy ball
If you are shooting a heavy ball from 15 feet without changing form, then it is reasonable. As soon as you see mechanics changed from the regular shot, it is a sign to come closer. From my experience, it takes 2-3 weeks of working on heavy ball shooting in the paint until a player can feel comfortable shooting from 15 feet. It is preferable to use heavy ball shooting in the beginning of the practice as a part of warm-up.
None of these tips will suddenly make you Steph Curry in the span of a day, but stick with them for a few weeks, and you should be draining more shots.
Remember! Don't strive to just be a shooter, strive to be a maker.
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]]>Sports SkillsCan Your One-Rep Max Really Predict Your Jumping and Sprinting Ability?http://orders.stack.com/a/does-your-one-rep-max-really-predict-your-jumping-and-sprinting-ability
Jake TuuraTue, 14 Aug 2018 09:42:00 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=293946recent study published in the International Journal of Sports Physiology examined these questions. Here's a summary of the study and the main takeaways that matter to you.

Study Methods

Sixty-one elite athletes from four different sports made up the population for this study. Participants competed in track and field sprinting and jumping events, rugby, bobsledding or soccer. Fifteen of the 61 athletes were Olympians.
The athletes were tested for their one-rep max in the Half Squat and their optimum bar-power output in the Half Squat and the Jump Squat. They were also tested for their max squat jump height, max countermovement jump height and max sprinting ability.
The researchers then examined how the participants' jumping and sprinting performances compared to the measure of strength(one-repetition maximum on the Half Squat) and measures of power(power output on Half Squats and Jump Squats.)

These same power measures were also significantly associated with all sprint times (r = 0.46 - 0.91).

The power measures taken in the Jump and Half Squat (mean propulsive power, mean power and peak power output) were more strongly associated with sprinting and jumping performance than the one-rep maximum on the Half Squat.

Takeaways

As strength and conditioning expert Chris Beardsley has discussed, the term "strength" can be separated into two categories: high-velocity strength and low-velocity strength.
Jumping and sprinting performances depend on high-velocity strength. This could be the reason that power output measures (which are a measure of high-velocity strength) correlate better to these athletic movements than measures of one-rep max strength (which qualify as a low-velocity measure of strength).
"(This study) suggests that monitoring strength training for athletes who jump and sprint should involve recording the capacity to produce high-velocity force. This can be done either by recording the power outputs achieved during exercises with light loads and fast speeds (such as jump squats) or by measuring the bar speeds achieved when working maximally against light loads," Beardsley writes in the August 2018 edition of The S&C Research Review.
The simplest takeaway is that athletes interested in jumping higher and running faster need to focus on how fast they can move the weight rather than solely obsessing over their one-rep max.
Photo Credit: MStudioimages/iStock]]>Strength TrainingHow I Conquered My 'Runner's Knee' Painhttp://orders.stack.com/a/how-i-conquered-my-runners-knee-pain
Joe PhillipsMon, 13 Aug 2018 12:30:00 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=293937What is Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome?
According to the Mayo Clinic, Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome is pain in the front of your knee, around the kneecap. It's also referred to as runner's knee. The pain usually increases when you run, walk up or down stairs, sit for long periods, or squat. I did not suffer any trauma or have anything acute happen to my knee, so my pain was either coming from overuse or a muscle imbalance/weakness.
"Patellofemoral pain can occur when the muscles around your hip and knee don't keep your kneecap properly aligned. Inward movement of the knee during a squat has been found to be associated with patellofemoral pain," the Mayo Clinic writes.

My Plan

After resting and staying away from exercises or activities that seemed to cause pain in my knee for a week or so, I went back to training as usual. The pain returned. That helped me deduce that overuse was not the cause, as rest was not helping the issue. Like many people, my knee pain was the result of muscle imbalance or weakness. Once I zeroed in on the cause, I drew up a plan of attack that included self-myofascial release, stretching, muscle activation and a re-designed training routine.

Self-Myofascial Release

Self-Myofascial Release (SMR) is often used to improve mobility or work out aches and pains one may be feeling on a muscular level. It is often provided by using a foam roller, PVC pipe, baseball/lacrosse ball/tennis ball, or even a barbell. The areas I targeted were the calf, outer side of calf, quadriceps, IT Band and groin. By rolling these areas and working out some of the knots, you can relieve some stress that may be pulling on the tendons associated with the knee.
An important thing to remember is that you should not only SMR on the side with pain, but also on the opposite side as well to keep your body balanced.
My order was as follows:

Calf, 20-30 seconds on each knot

Outer Calf, 20-30 seconds on each knot

Quadricep, 20-30 seconds on each knot

IT Band, 20-30 seconds on each knot

Adductors (Groin), 20-30 seconds on each knot

Stretching

I would typically stretch after training sessions or dedicate a portion of my day to the activity. But before I would stretch, I would perform some form of SMR. That is your choice, but I found that to be most beneficial for myself. The same muscles I did SMR on, I would stretch, as well. I also added general mobility to spots like the glutes, hip flexors, hamstrings, back, front of calf and feet. My order was as follows:

Foot stretch, 20-30 seconds each

Front of calf stretch, 20-30 seconds each

Achilles stretch, 20-30 seconds each

Calf stretch, 20-30 seconds each

Hamstring stretch, 20-30 seconds each

Glute stretch, 20-30 seconds each

Quadriceps stretch, 20-30 seconds each

Hip flexor stretch, 20-30 seconds each

Adductors (groin) stretch, 20-30 seconds each

IT band stretch, 20-30 seconds each

Muscle Activation/Warm-Up

I also decided that focusing on activating certain muscles could be helpful in addressing my pain. Certain movements can often be painful because we are not using the appropriate muscles to initiate the action. Many people live a sedentary lifestyle, meaning they are seated and do not move much for most of the day, which can create muscle activation issues. Namely, anterior dominance.
I would use this muscle activation technique as part of my warm-up prior to a lift or directly after one of my separate stretching sessions. My main goal was to activate my groin, hamstrings, and glutes. My body had begun to rely too heavily on the quadriceps for lower body movements, such as squatting, and that was putting additional stress on my knees. My muscle activation series went as follows:
[youtube video="pWKGebI-toU"]

Glute Thrusts x 10 reps (Single-leg variation if you're advanced)

Fire Hydrants x 6 each leg

Bird Dogs x 6 each leg

Med Ball Groin squeeze x 8 reps

Lateral tubing x 10 yards each way

Front/Back Tubing x 10 yards each

Re-Designing My Routine

The final way I decided to try to decrease/alleviate my knee pain was adjusting the exercise order I utilized during my workouts.
As I mentioned previously, my quadriceps were doing the majority of the work on my Squats while my posterior chain (glutes/hamstrings) were doing very little. So my idea, which was formulated with help from colleagues in the profession, was to start my workout with two to four sets of a posterior-focused movement. After my warm-up, I would do two of the following four exercises: Romanian-Deadlift (RDL), Cable Pull-Through, Hamstring Curl, Banded Hip Thrusts. By activating my posterior chain and getting those muscles primed and ready to work, it took pressure off of my quadriceps, which helped relieve my knee pain. The additional posterior work also helped me strengthen my posterior chain muscles and become less quad-dominant, which should help prevent pain moving forward.
In conclusion, the combination of all of these methods ultimately helped me alleviate my runner's knee pain. I have since been successful in my training, both on the field and inside the weight room. I hope my story helps at least one other person solve or improve their runner's knee pain. We must often look at muscles either further up or further down the leg to solve our knee pain.
Photo Credit: OcusFocus/iStockREAD MORE:

]]>Sports InjuriesWhy Young Athletes Shouldn't Lift Every Dayhttp://orders.stack.com/a/why-young-athletes-shouldnt-lift-every-day
Matthew KormanMon, 13 Aug 2018 11:12:00 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=293928Primal Strength Camp), the athlete's performance goes down after a training session until they're able to recover and reach supercompensation. If the athlete lifts again before they are able to recover, then they never reach the supercompensation period. The line simply continues to dip lower and lower until the athlete finally rests or gets injured.
If the athlete approaches their strength training with the philosophy of "stress then rest", they should continue to see positive adaptations. However, If the athlete waits too long to stress the body again, than they will reduce the gains made from the first workout.
You know who can strength train more frequently than athletes? Bodybuilders. Since they isolate muscle groups and the intensity of their workouts is generally lower, their sessions don't affect the central nervous system in the same way. But athletes generally do not train their muscles in isolation, utilizing mostly complex multi-joint exercises, which are incredibly fatiguing to the central nervous system.
Even if you are doing an upper-body, lower-body split routine you are training the same nervous system with each workout, and that nervous system needs rest just like your muscles. Below is a list of six ways an individual gets stronger via strength training. Other than muscular hypertrophy, these are all nervous system adaptations. If the nervous system plays such a major role in adaptation to strength training, than nervous system fatigue must be taken into consideration.

Hypertrophy (increase in muscle size)

Increased synchronization of motor unit firing

Increased number of motor units firing for a task

Reduction in autogenic inhibition

Increased firing rate

Reduced co-activation

And just like we must use the appropriate frequency of our workouts for optimal gains, we also must use the appropriate stress.
Just as many young athletes want to lift too often, they also want to perform exercises or drills well beyond their training age. Many of my athletes will reference things they see on social media from professional athletes and ask me why we do not have that in our workouts.
First, professional athletes are in the elite end of the human gene pool. Their bodies are able to handle more stress and recover from that stress better than 99% of human beings. Beyond that, though, those athletes have a training age that is at least 6-10 years beyond a kid in high school.
For example, NFL running back Saquon Barkely has many impressive videos of his strength. One such video shows him performing a Farmer's Walk with over 250 pounds up a hill while his strength coach pulls against him with a resistance band. Most young athletes couldn't walk up that hill with just the trap bar, and I doubt Saquon could do that when he was 14, either. If you want to get to the level professional athletes are at, than you need to do what professional athletes did to get there.
Young athletes who want to lift too often is a good problem to have. It means they have bought in to strength training as a way to improve their performance, and it also means they have the drive to work extremely hard. However, their coaches must make it clear to them that lifting every day or nearly ever day is counterintuitive to their goals. When they don't allow proper time for recovery, both their muscles and their central nervous system can't perform as intended. That means weaker lifts and more low-energy sessions. Rather than thinking they need to be in the weight room every single day, young athletes should be taught to follow an appropriate program (I prefer three lifts a week) and execute it with intelligence and intensity.
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]]>Strength Training7 Athletes Who Make Insane Money Off Endorsement Dealshttp://orders.stack.com/a/7-athletes-who-make-insane-money-off-endorsement-deals
Brandon HallFri, 10 Aug 2018 17:19:59 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=293920
Pro athletes get paid plenty of money.
The average NBA player has a contract that sees them rake in $7.5 million a season, for instance.
But where things get really lucrative is endorsement deals.
Endorsement deals are essentially a form of advertising.
A famous athlete agrees to use and promote a company's products, therefore increasing exposure and (hopefully) consumer opinion of the brand.
As part of the deal, the athlete usually agrees to not be seen using a competitor's products.
Sounds great for the athlete, right? Well companies are willing to shell out insane amounts of money for endorsement deals, particularly when the player involved is one of the biggest names in their respective sport.
Forbes recently released a list of 2018's highest-paid athletes. Along with contract earnings, they also included money made off endorsements.
With the help of this list, we've tabbed the seven athletes who make more money off endorsements than anyone else.
Photo Credit: Stu Forster/Getty Images]]>Sports Headlines7 Gadgets Star Athletes Can't Live Withouthttp://orders.stack.com/a/7-gadgets-star-athletes-cant-live-without
Brandon HallFri, 10 Aug 2018 15:56:13 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=293906
Gadgets.
The pieces of technology that make our lives easier, more informed, and more entertaining.
Professional athletes love their gizmos just like the rest of us.
If an athlete from the 1980s stumbled into a modern pro locker room, they'd be astonished by the amount of technology they'd find.
Boots that squeeze the soreness right out of your legs.
Tiny hand-held televisions that store your playbook and game film.
Portable drills that hammer tight muscles into submission.
Technology plays a huge role in many pro athletes' personal and professional lives, but many of these items don't come cheap.
These are the seven gadgets star athletes can't live without.
Photo Credit: Brett Carlsen/Getty Images]]>GearLamar Jackson is Already Breaking Ankles in the NFLhttp://orders.stack.com/a/lamar-jackson-is-already-breaking-ankles-in-the-nfl
Jordan ZirmFri, 10 Aug 2018 14:46:00 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=293900
After an up and down debut in the Hall of Fame Game last week, Lamar Jackson bounced back against the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night, going 7/18 for 119 yards and rushing for a touchdown.

On said rush, Jackson gave us a glimpse of why he's such a tantalizing prospect, and why it's going hard to keep him off the field for the duration of 2018. As he took off from the pocket, Jackson started out going to his left before noticing a Rams defensive lineman who'd shed his blocker waiting in front of him. So Jackson cut back hard to his right, sending the defensive lineman to his knees with an out-of-this-world ankle-breaker on his way to the end zone.
Jackson is going to be so much fun to watch as his career progresses.]]>Sports HeadlinesNew Research Shows Aerobic Activity Shortly After Sustaining a Concussion Drastically Decreases Recovery Timehttp://orders.stack.com/a/new-research-shows-aerobic-activity-shortly-after-sustaining-a-concussion-drastically-decreases-recovery-time
Brandon HallFri, 10 Aug 2018 11:30:38 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=293857 U of T News:

For each successive day of delaying the start of aerobic exercise, individuals had a less favorable recovery trajectory, according to the study. Initiating aerobic exercise at three and seven days following injury (compared to within one day of injury) was associated with a reduced probability of 36.5 percent and 73.2 percent respectively of a faster full return to sport, and a reduced probability of 45.9 percent and 83.1 percent respectively of a faster full return to school and work.

So the longer it took participants to engage in low-impact aerobic activity following the occurrence of injury, the longer it typically took them to return to play and school/work. This graph from the study further illustrates this:
But every type of aerobic activity may not be equally beneficial. The researchers recommend initially sticking with low-impact aerobic exercise with "minimal head movement," such as walking, stationary cycling and the elliptical. Jogging and swimming are not recommended during this early stage of recovery, as their higher amounts of head movement may exacerbate symptoms. The researchers also recommend that the intensity of the exercise be light enough that you can carry on a conversation as you perform it, and that there should be no worsening of symptoms associated with the exercise.
"Historically, concussion management was based on a simple recipe of rest until your symptoms go away. However, what we have realized is that in many people symptoms take time to resolve and prolonged periods of rest may have a negative impact because rest was interpreted as no activity in sport, school, work, screen and social activities," said Michael Hutchison, director of the concussion program at the MacIntosh clinic and co-author of the study, told U of T News. "We still believe that a brief reduction in activity from normal levels is beneficial...However, we recommend maintaining activity levels that do not exacerbate symptoms in the acute period."
For more details on the protocol and guidelines utilized, view the full study as published in the journal PLOS One.
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]]>Sports Injuries7 Favorite Mobile Apps of Pro Athleteshttp://orders.stack.com/a/7-favorite-mobile-apps-of-pro-athletes
Brandon HallFri, 10 Aug 2018 09:45:58 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=293879
We love our phones.
We turn to them for entertainment, important updates, to stay connected with friends and family.
Professional athletes are no different.
"When you walk in after a game, every single person is on their phone," Memphis Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks recently told The Washington Post.
While spending hours each day glued to your mobile device can be bad for both your posture and your mental state, it's become a way of life in 2018.
When you see an athlete tapping away on their iPhone prior to a game, what app do you think they're using?
The answer varies from person to person, of course, but there are a handful of apps which seem to be installed on just about every athlete's device.
Whether they're listening to music, sharing a workout selfie, or dropping into Tilted Towers, these are the apps they use to make it happen.
Here are seven favorite mobile apps of professional athletes.
Photo Credit: Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images]]>EntertainmentHow The 'Snap Down' Drill Builds Explosive Athletes From the Ground Uphttp://orders.stack.com/a/how-the-snap-down-drill-builds-explosive-athletes-from-the-ground-up
Justin OchoaFri, 10 Aug 2018 09:30:00 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=293819What is the Snap Down Drill?
[youtube video="SRPePDn_8OA"]
First, let's just talk about the simple Snap Down drill. We begin our athletes in a passive triple extension posture where they're up on the balls of their feet with ankles, knees and hips in full extension and arms above the head.
We position the start this way because it mimics the extension patterns we all know create speed and power, but also adds a little bit of vulnerability with the overhead reach. Simply assessing posture at the beginning can allow us to identify if an athlete uses excessive lumbar extension to get overhead, if they have mobility issues up the kinetic chain, or if their balance is lousy.
We allow athletes to find their "jumping stance" with their feet. Instead of having a set width, we just see what the athlete naturally does and adjust it if it looks like a trainwreck. Other than that, we get them rolling on these quickly.
From the start position, athletes will viciously snap into an athletic position with triple flexion now at the ankle, knee and hip joints. The arms are now positioned somewhere near the hips or bent for optimal re-acceleration mechanics.
Athletes should be intentional and violent with the movement. We want to see force being applied and absorbed as the lower body gets into position, as well as arm speed and very precise movement into the end range of the Snap Down. This movement is the groundwork for all of the various progressions to come. Master this and unlock some of the most underrated tools an athlete can access.

The Single-Leg Snap Down

[youtube video="HidAGPc9gj4"]
The Single-Leg Snap Down is exactly the same as the drill I described above, minus one foot. When you snap down into your final position, you want to make sure you now apply force and land on one leg while the other leg stays off the ground.
The off leg can assist in balance during this movement by staying bent and underneath the athlete's center of mass. Don't let the leg escape from this position, or you may see some wobbliness or knee valgus upon landing. This is also groundwork for other single-leg variations to come, so work on this as an entry-level variation that will open up future progressions.

The Snap Down to Vertical or Broad Jump

[youtube video="y89vO65058s"]
The next step we take in this progression is adding a force production element to the standard Snap Down, whether it be on one leg or two. We do this by either adding a Broad Jump, Vertical Jump or any other kind of athletic movement (sprints, bounds, shuffles, crossovers). Sometimes, it turns into a combo of many or all of the above.
Building off the groundwork laid in the original drill, we now aim to respond to the ground as quickly and powerfully as possible. The key to this drill is to minimize ground contact time and maximize jump height, jump distance, bound quality, acceleration speed, etc. This allows athletes to train the stretch-shortening cycle and increase their reactive strength, which has massive carryover into athleticism and important lifts.

The Elevated Snap Down

[youtube video="-IXsXFDg0Ic"]
This variation goes back to the basics of the original Snap Down with no added movements after landing. However, it adds load to the drill by increasing the surface height of the setup. We like to start by jumping off 45-pound bumper plates and progress up to a 12-inch box over time.
By elevating the athlete in the setup phase, you increase the downward force they will need to absorb upon landing. This is a two-fold benefit for the athlete in that we're safely implementing some "overspeed" training into their foundational SAQ work and also filling gaps that other popular power exercises do not train.
For example, the true purpose of a Box Jump is to have an athlete jump high and land on an elevated surface. Landing on that elevated surface drastically decreases the force being absorbed during the landing phase. If you jump 28 inches into the air and land on a 24-inch high box, you only have to absorb 4 inches of downward force rather than all 28 inches of the jump. This is great for training concentric actions and maximal force production without overly fatiguing athletes to the point where their landings get sloppy.
The Elevated Snap Down picks up where Box Jumps leave off by adding incremental load to the landing phase. Since there is no maximal jump to begin the Snap Down, the athlete is fresh during their landing mechanics and can execute it with perfection. Together, both exercises can help fully train all aspects of jumping and power production, and eventually lead to more advanced (full jumping, full landing) options.

The Elevated Snap Down to Jump

[youtube video="CF6pMDspHY4"]
[youtube video="-2SFnc_Alnw"]
Just like we add a secondary movement to our ground-based Snap Downs, the same progression follows for the elevated versions, as well. Again, we add load to the landing, so it is especially important to minimize ground contact time and maximize force production for the given movement—sprint, jump, shuffle, etc.
Depending on elevation height, you can explore single leg options with very advanced athletes who possess high levels of strength and stability. For beginners, I would stick to bilateral options until they've shown mastery of split squats with moderate load and all of the previously shown Snap Down variations.

The Resisted Snap Down & Combo Variations

[youtube video="QCldVIRtKQQ"]
Last, but not least, comes the fun stuff. Resisted Snap Downs using Vertimax or band tension is a great way to spice up any of the previous variations. This is where coaches can really get creative and start to toe the line of "sport-specific" drills.
No, I don't mean put a basketball in your athlete's hand while they do these. That's just silly. I mean mimicking more sport-driven movement combos within the constraints of general strength, speed and agility.
For example, a basketball player may do an Elevated Snap Down to Vertical Jump to Lateral Shuffle to add slight elements of sport demands to advanced levels of training.
The key with these higher level progressions is to make sure that the quality of movement does not change as you enter new variations. If anything, form should improve as load increases. Look for crisp, precise movements in every rep.
This is surely not an exhaustive list of Snap Down variations, but these are some of the most common and effective options our athletes have found success with. The Snap Down and its progressions are truly some of the biggest bang-for-your-buck movements an athlete can perform, and they can be tweaked to all ages and skill levels.
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]]>Strength TrainingHow to Build Real Soccer Agilityhttp://orders.stack.com/a/how-to-build-real-soccer-agility
Erica SuterThu, 09 Aug 2018 11:30:00 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=2938491. Learn the Athletic Stance
[youtube video="gOAXskwsO5I"]
I'm willing to bet not too many young soccer players have been taught what it feels like to be in a proper athletic stance. I'd argue this is one of the first things that should be taught before we have them jump blindly into an agility drill.
Why is the athletic stance so critical?
A proper athletic stance sees the player lower their center of gravity and stand with a wide enough base of support that they're able to move in any direction efficiently. It also teaches players to load the hamstrings and glutes, which are primary muscles used to change directions in a powerful, explosive manner. Once a player gets comfortable in an athletic stance and the position becomes second nature, they're able to safely and efficiently change directions and perform a move/fake against a defender.
The next progression from athletic stance would be learning which leg to load when cutting and changing direction. Here's a simple way to introduce this essential concept to your players:
[youtube video="Wkks9HQiVQQ"]

2. Improve Mobility and Stability

[youtube video="u8I4rwrH6CY"]
[youtube video="J04AXStQ5Zw"]
Mobility allows for free movement of the limbs, and stability ensures athletes are able to control their balance and exert force efficiently when changing directions. Mobility without stability isn't nearly as valuable as the two being present together, and vice versa.
The main parts of the body I'm looking at in terms of mobility are the hips (flexion), ankles (dorsiflexion), and trunk (stability). Together, quality mobility in these areas help a player maintain good posture and balance during movement.
Lateral mobility and stablity drills, such as those shown above, are a great warm-up for an agility training session. They not only get athletes moving in the frontal plane, but they also mobilize and stabilize certain muscle groups.

3. Build Strength and Power

[youtube video="huu1d86b854"]
[youtube video="Vvw71hGBkBk"]
This is where the weight room comes into play. Sure, pitch training will improve our players' technical and tactical skills, but weight room training is the key ingredient for building strength and power in all planes of motion.
Lateral strength and power helps players put more force into the ground when changing directions, resulting in better agility. Lateral lunge variations, Bounding and rotational power exercises are excellent ways to help athletes get comfortable moving in multiple planes. Beginners will get the most benefit from these movements by starting with just their body weight and slowly adding weight over time.

4. Train at Maximum Intensity

To prepare for the multi-directional demands of the game, players must be training agility at game-like intensity. These high-intensity training sessions are best done when players are on a hiatus from competitive games and tournaments.
During the players' offseason, I'd recommend at least one or two full speed agility sessions per week. Since change of direction is overloaded during the preseason and regular season via small-sided and full field games, players should not focus on performing it at high intensities during training during these times. The offseason is the prime season for coaches or strength coaches to not only teach change of direction skills, but to also drill them at maximum intensity.
With that said, proper rest intervals need to be utilized for these agility drill reps to be most beneficial. We want every rep to be performed at high speed. If we keep the rest intervals short, the players will simply be too winded to execute each rep as desired. Then we essentially turn our agility session into a conditioning session. I recommend a rest interval of 90-120 seconds between each rep for most agility drills.
But simply telling a player you want them to perform a drill at top speed doesn't guarantee they'll actually do it. Know what does? Making every drill a competition or race. I've found players step things up a notch when they're racing an opponent to the finish line, or when you have one player chasing the other through the drill. Not only does this help them train at game-like speeds, but kids have more when they compete. It's a win-win. Integrating races or tag-style games during your agility sessions can be a great idea.

5. Train Reactive Agility

[youtube video="snLtUVlWLqk"]
Before I dive into the final and arguably most critical component of agility training, let me ask you a question: Are your players fast movers, fast thinkers or both?
Because if they're one but not the other, their agility is going to seriously suffer. This is why training what's known as reactive agility is so important. While structured or "planned" agility drills (which are essentially any drill where the player knowns what moves or cuts they'll be executing before they start the rep) are excellent for training things like the proper athletic stance and good form on cutting and changing directions, players eventually must process to drills that test their reaction time and decision-making skills.
Reactive agility drills are exactly what they sound like. They require the player to react to an external stimuli during the drill, as opposed to knowing exactly what they'll be doing before they start the reps. This trains their ability to process that stimuli and react accordingly as fast as possible, which much more closely mimics the rigors of a game than a planned drill.
The above drill (video quality may need to be set at 720p or lower to run smoothly) is an example of a reactive agility drill that also incorporates competitive elements. The player facing the coach is reacting to the direction of where the coach points their finger. The player facing away from the coach is reacting to the other player's movements. Neither one of them have any idea where they'll be moving next—they must rely on their eyes and their reaction skills to respond to the chaos. There are an endless number of other reactive agility drills that can be incorporated into soccer players' training routines, as the only limit is really their coach's imagination. The more the drill can simulate what they'll face in a real game, the better. A ball can even be added to the player's feet during a drill for another level of progression.
Although this list may seem extensive, building excellent agility requires a multi-faceted approach. Attacking all of these layers is needed to develop the complete player who can swirl around the pitch with speed and precision.
Photo Credit: vgajic/iStockREAD MORE:
]]>Get FasterWhy Seeing a Physical Therapist—Even if You Don't Think You're Injured—Can Make You a Better Athletehttp://orders.stack.com/a/why-seeing-a-physical-therapist-even-if-you-dont-think-youre-injured-can-make-you-a-better-athlete
Guy DemongThu, 09 Aug 2018 09:35:00 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=293807
We have to recognize there's no way to truly "injury-proof" an athlete. The nature of sports means that there can be an unpredictable culmination of circumstances that may make injury unavoidable. And while I am a firm believer that the best "pre-habilitation" is a solid, well-rounded and balanced training program that addresses the entire spectrum of physical ability over time, the reality is that the longer and more frequently you take part in any sport or athletics, the greater the odds you'll eventually run into injury.
This is where having an on-going relationship with a physical therapist can be invaluable. The truth is, many of us walk around blissfully unaware of a condition that puts us at an increased risk of injury. Maybe you have excessive anterior pelvic tilt. Maybe your hips are over-active, reducing the explosive power and strength you can draw from your glutes. Maybe your chest is super tight, pulling your shoulders forward and leading to hunched posture. All of these issues are surprisingly common, yet it can be easy to live your life in ignorance of their existence. A physical therapist has the ability to assess your strengths, weaknesses, and mobility and flexibility limitations. They can use this data to identify injury risks and recommend a plan to correct any issues. The result is a reduced risk of future injury and, if the plan is formulated and followed correctly, better movement both in training and in competition.
Visiting a physical therapist prior to injury can also help you establish physical benchmarks, allowing you see how an injury has affected your movement and help you figure out a proper target for return-to-play. This can be helpful as "normal" ranges of motion are based on an average. For example, shoulder extension can fall anywhere from 45-60 degrees and still be considered "normal." But if you were close to 60 degrees in your initial assessment and find that you're only getting 47 degrees post-injury, that's 13 degrees of lost range of motion. If you hadn't established that baseline, it would've been tough to know just how much the injury had effected you.
Lastly, developing a real relationship with your physical therapist has numerous benefits. The more often they see you, the better they know your body and what makes you tick. On this topic, I'd strongly recommend you utilize a therapist who has experience working with athletes. These individuals will be able to better assess your body and identify your individual needs.
While seeing a physical therapist used to require a referral from a doctor in many states, this is no longer the case.
"One common misconception is that you have to go see your doctor before you come in to see a PT. That's generally not the case in most states," Dr. Matt Stevens, physical therapist and owner of Pure Physio (Strongsville, Ohio), tells STACK. "Most of the time, you can go in to see your PT as a primary point of entry into the medical system."
If you want to stop in for a proactive visit, call your local clinic (remember, try to visit a PT who has prior experience with athletes) and find out the steps you'll need to take to make it happen.
Photo Credit: LSOPhoto/iStockREAD MORE:

]]>Sports SkillsWhy 'Anti' Movements Are an Athlete's Key to Functional Core Strengthhttp://orders.stack.com/a/why-anti-movements-are-an-athletes-key-to-functional-core-strength
Kyle ArsenaultWed, 08 Aug 2018 09:30:00 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=293797What Are 'Anti' Core Movements?
Traditional core exercises such as Sit-Ups, Crunches, Side Bends and Russian Twists all focus on creating motion through the core. During these movements, the spine flexes, extends, bends and rotates.
On the other end of the core training spectrum are anti-movements. As the name implies, anti-movements focus on preventing motion at the hips and spine. Research has found that the natural role of our core is to resist movement, not create it, so true functional exercises must focus on this ability. Mastering anti-movements help athletes stabilize the hips and spine during movement, resulting in a solid base of which to perform. This means a greater ability to transfer energy from the lower body to the upper body, and vice versa. The ability to efficiently transfer force between the lower and upper bodies will not only allow an athlete to produce more powerful and efficient actions during common movements like running, jumping, throwing, shooting, etc., but it will also make them more resilient to injury.
When athletes can not complete powerful actions without excess movement at the hips and spine, force is "leaked" out of the core instead of being transferred and optimally applied to produce the desired movement. Lost force means less explosive, less efficient movements—slower sprints, sloppier changes of direction, weaker pushes and pulls, etc.
A core incapable of resisting force can also create wear and tear on your joints, particularly in your hips and lower back. An unstable core can also result in poor movement patterns both up and down the chain, leading to issues in your knees, ankles, shoulders and elbows. In summation, a core capable of resisting force in a variety of planes helps an athlete move better and stay healthier.

The Three Types Of Anti-Core Exercises

The core anti-movements can generally be grouped into one of three categories—anti-extension, anti-rotation and anti-lateral flexion. Certain exercises may fall into two of these categories simultaneously. Let's dive into each of these categories and explain their role in building a bulletproof athletic core.

1. Anti-Extension Exercises

In this case, extension refers to the spine. Extension of the spine occurs when the spine "extends" backwards, or when the back arches. This is also often accompanied by the hips coming forward, or if you're training in the sagittal plane, "dropping" toward the ground.
Some extension of the spine will naturally occur when you are sprinting, throwing, shooting, etc., at high speeds. But an issue arises when there's too much extension at the spine during these movements.
To prevent excess extension, we utilize anti-extension core movements. These include exercises like Dead Bugs, Planks, Ab Rollouts and Body Saws. The following exercises are listed in order of difficulty, and the goal of each is to prevent the back from overarching and the hips from tipping forward.

The Dead Bug

[youtube video="dHCRRSqpFiE"]
The Dead Bug is the foundational exercise that allows athletes to understand what it means to prevent extension of the lumbar spine.
To execute the Dead Bug, lie on your back and bring your hips and knees to 90 degrees. Raise your arms straight up toward the ceiling, keeping your wrist in line with your shoulders. Before you initiate any movement from this position, focus on keeping your back flat to the floor and preventing your ribcage from popping up. Envision pulling your zipper up toward your ribcage and "shrink wrapping" your spine with your abs.
Without allowing your back to arch or ribs to pop up, take a breath in and reach an arm and the opposite leg out, leaving the other arm and leg in the start position. Reach them out as far as you can without your low back coming off the floor. Breathe all of your air out at the end range, still focusing on keeping the back flat to the floor and preventing the ribs from popping up. Return to the start position and repeat with the other arm and leg. Shoot for 5-8 reps per side.

The Plank

[youtube video="MRpeFFoHMpg"]
The classic Plank allows an athlete to learn how to develop more tension in the core to prevent extension. To perform the Plank properly, start with the forearms on the ground and your feet together. Bring your hips off the ground.
At the top of the Plank ,you need to again focus on not allowing your low back to arch or hips to sag as you envision pulling your zipper up towards your ribcage. Also, it is important to keep the upper back from collapsing. To prevent this from happening, keep your upper back "filled out" by focusing on pushing the floor away as much as possible through the forearms.
You can either go for a set time (such as 30-60 consecutive seconds), or a number of breaths. Either way, you should focus on completing full breaths throughout the entire exercise to ensure your core is creating the stability and not your diaphragm. Once you master the basic Plank, you have a bevy of variations at your disposal.

The Body Saw

[youtube video="iABks8uy3OE"]
The Body Saw is a dynamic plank variation. In mechanical terms, this exercise lengthens the lever that needs to be controlled, demanding greater ability to prevent extension.
Using a slideboard or a pair of slide disks on turf or carpet (or even a towel or t-shirt on a hardwood floor), start in a proper plank position as described above with your toes on the slide-able object(s).
From here, slide your body back and away from your forearms, going as far as you can before you feel your hips are in threat of dropping below the line of the heels and shoulders. Stop there and pull yourself back to the start position.
Like the Plank, you should focus on keeping your abs engaged (zipper up) the entire time to prevent extension. You should always feel like the work is taking place in your abs and not your low back. If you feel your low back, shorten the range of motion, and stay hyper focused on not allowing the hips to sag or the back to arch.
Go for 6-12 reps and make sure the movement is slow and controlled. Once you master the Body Saw, you can progress to an Ab Rollout.

2. Anti-Rotation Exercises

Anti-rotation exercises train the hips and spine to resist rotation.
Powerful rotation is a key athletic quality for many sports. To fully express rotational power, an athlete must first learn to control or prevent rotation. This will allow an athlete to fully harness the power they develop through the lower body and transfer it to the upper body without increasing their risk of injury.
The following exercises are listed in order of difficulty, with the goal of each to prevent rotation at the hips and low back.

The Bird Dog

[youtube video="77VPYHsjyfs"]
Like the Dead Bug, the Bird Dog is a foundational exercise. The ability to control rotation at the hip and low back when the arms and legs are moving is the first step to understanding and strengthening your ability to control rotation.
Start in a quadruped (all fours) position with your hands beneath your shoulders and your knees beneath your hips. Use your abs to find a neutral ("flat") position at the low back and hips.
Keep the hip from shifting or rotating and the low back from arching as you reach the opposite hand and leg out. Envision getting as long as you can from your heel to your fingertips. Also, imagine a glass of water on your low back. Do not allow the glass of water to spill (if you truly want to try this, use an empty plastic cup).
Hold the end range of the movement for a 1-2 count and then return to the start position. Perform the same movement with the other arm and leg. Do not let the hips shift as you transition between sides. Alternate sides on each rep until you complete 6-8 reps per side.

Anti-Rotation Press (Pallof Press)

[youtube video="SfedRqtUQPM"]
The name says it all here.
Start with a cable (or band) at belly button height. Stand sideways to the cable and bring the handle to the center of the chest.
Before pressing out, make sure you are in a solid athletic position with the abs engaged (as if you were to pull your zipper to your ribcage), feet hip width apart (or slightly wider), and your hips slightly hinged.
Press the cable straight out from your chest, never letting the cable deviate from a straight path. Hold the end range for a 1-2 count and slowly return the cable back to the chest. The entire time, the resistance from the cable is trying make you rotate at the hips and spine. You must fight against this and keep your hips and spine as square as possible!
You should feel the work taking place in the core, especially on the side closest to the cable anchor, where the obliques will be working to prevent the rotation. Go for 8-12 reps on each side.

Anti-Rotation Pulse

[youtube video="s1qaN0BSiCs"]
Like the Anti-Rotation Press, the Anti-Rotation Pulse uses a cable (or band) to create a rotational force that must be controlled. The difference here is that there will be a changing pulsing action that must be controlled, increasing the difficulty of the challenge.
Start in the same position as the anti-rotation press. Push the cable out from the chest, but this time, bring the cable in line with the inside shoulder. Without letting the hips or low back rotate, pulse the cable from your inside shoulder to the outside shoulder, always keeping the arms long.
The pulsing action can start off slow to ensure you can maintain your position. Once you are locked in, increase the speed of the pulse. Make sure to complete reps facing both directions, and to breathe during the exercise. Go for 15-25 reps per side. Once you've mastered this move in the bilateral position, you can try it in a split stance position. This further increases the challenge and places you in another functional sport position.

3. Anti-Lateral Flexion Exercises

During many change-of-direction actions in sport, the spine will want to bend to the side as the shoulders will want to sway outside of the hips. When this happens, not only will the athlete's ability to quickly and efficiently change directions be drastically reduced, but they will also be placed at a higher risk for injury to the ankle, knee and hip.
To mitigate this, anti-lateral flexion exercises can be utilized to train the spine to resist bending to the side. The following exercises are listed in order of difficulty with the goal of each to help you solidify your ability to keep the spine from bending to the side.

The Side Plank

[youtube video="KvSx3urqKHE"]
The Side Plank is the foundational exercise when it comes to strengthening anti-lateral flexion. The force that must be controlled is gravity, which is trying to pull the hips towards the floor. The hips sagging to the floor is the same flawed movement we would see when the spine bends to the side in an upright position.
To execute the Side Plank, lie on your side with your forearm on the ground directly beneath your shoulder and your feet stacked. Before your bring your hips off the ground, engage your abs as if you were to pull your zipper to your ribcage. Many times, athletes will overarch their back in the side plank which decreases the effectiveness of the exercise. Don't let this happen!
Bridge your hips up from the ground, obtaining a straight line from the shoulders to the ankles. You should feel the work taking place in the underside of the core, particularly in your obliques. If you feel your low back is doing the brunt of the work, try rotating the top hip slightly forward to put the obliques in a better position to do the work for you.
Like the plank, you can go for time (30-60 consecutive seconds), or you can use a breath count (5-8 full breaths). Either way, make sure to breathe fully throughout the exercise, and then complete an equal set on the other side.
You can enhance the challenge of the Side Plank by removing the top leg and either marching the knee toward the chest or bringing the leg straight up towards the ceiling. Here you can go for 6-10 reps per side.

The Single-Arm Farmer's Walk

[youtube video="U7OSURQZAo4"]
The Single-Arm Farmers Walk allows the athlete to train and enhance their anti-lateral flexion ability from a standing position. The dumbbell (or other weight) is trying to pull the athlete into a side bend. Typically, the athlete will super compensate the movement and lean away from the dumbbell, creating a side bend to the opposite side. We do not want this either! We want you to stand and walk as naturally and as normally as possible, as if you didn't even have a weight in your hand.
Start in a standing position with a heavy dumbbell in one hand. Keep the abs engaged and upper back tight (shoulder blades tipped back). Focus on keeping the body "tight and tall," never allowing the torso to bend toward the dumbbell or lean away to the other side.
Take small and controlled steps, keeping the feet from crossing over each other as you walk forward. Go for time (30-60 seconds) or distance (20-100 yards), and then switch the dumbbell to the other hand and repeat. You should feel the work mostly taking place in the side of the core away from the dumbbell.

Suspension Anti-Lateral Flexion

[youtube video="W_7ww-EzBiI"]
With the use of a suspension trainer, you can create a unique demand on the core. Like in the Side Plank, Your body weight acts as your resistance. However, since you're now on your feet, the lever you must control is longer, increasing the demand of the exercise.
Start parallel to a suspension trainer with your outside foot in front of your inside foot, but nearly equal in width. Grab the handle of the suspension trainer with both hands and bring it to the center of your chest. Lean away from the trainer, using the trainer to keep you from falling to the ground.
Without letting the hips sag toward the floor, push the handle of the suspension trainer overhead. Hold the end range for a 1-2 count and then return the handle to the chest. Repeat for 6-10 reps, and then turn around and complete reps facing the other direction.
Hopefully, this article has helped you understand why anti-movements are essential for building functional core strength and stability in athletes. If our core can resist certain movements during activity, we become more powerful, efficient creatures. While this article did not include every anti-movement available to you, these exercises are a great starting point for most athletes. By mastering these anti-movements, athletes will set themselves up for greater success in sport by mitigating injury risk and enhancing their ability to transfer force and create greater power.
Photo Credit: Cecilie_Arcurs/iStock, fizkes/iStock, PeopleImages/iStock, Bojan89/iStock]]>Strength TrainingDrew Brees' Accuracy Is Still Incredible to Watchhttp://orders.stack.com/a/drew-brees-accuracy-is-still-incredible-to-watch
Jordan ZirmTue, 07 Aug 2018 14:10:43 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=293837
Going into his 18th season, at the age of 39, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees still possesses some of the most jaw-dropping accuracy you'll see from anyone in the NFL. During the 2017 season, Brees completed an absurd 72 percent of his passes, a career-high. If the below video is any indication, he'll be hovering right around the same percentage this season, too.

]]>Sports HeadlinesTampa Bay Buccaneers DE Noah Spence Consumed 9,000 Calories a Day This Offseasonhttp://orders.stack.com/a/tampa-bay-buccaneers-de-noah-spence-consumed-9000-calories-a-day-this-offseason
Jordan ZirmTue, 07 Aug 2018 14:06:56 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=293834
Entering his third year in the NFL, Noah Spence was committed to becoming a more complete player. As a defensive end, he wanted to transform his body into one that would be able to withstand staying on the field for all three downs, and ensure his weight stopped fluctuating as the season went on, a problem he'd had in the past. So he started eating. A lot.
Spence is in the midst of a meal plan that sees him consume 9,000 calories per day, a diet that has helped him put on 35 pounds and boost his weight from 228 to 263 pounds. He's sitting down to eat nine times a day, drinking seven protein shakes, eating tons of pasta and taking a deep dive into coconut-milk ice cream, all in an effort to become a guy who can both rush the passer and stop the run, and not get moved off the line of scrimmage.
"I kind of just started playing with it [in the offseason] to see what works," Spence told ESPN. "I felt like if I just don't stop eating or drinking, I won't lose weight."
So far, the results have been positive. Teammates say he hasn't lost any of his speed and that his body looks better than ever. Spence is also drinking a gallon of water to go along with those nine meals.
Spence has two jobs, now—football and eating.]]>Sports HeadlinesIf You're Simply Assigning Sets and Reps, You're Failing as a Strength and Conditioning Coachhttp://orders.stack.com/a/if-youre-simply-assigning-sets-and-reps-youre-failing-as-a-strength-and-conditioning-coach
John CissikTue, 07 Aug 2018 11:30:00 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=2938131. Physical Preparation
This is the easy one. The main reason the job of S&C coach exists is to help physically prepare athletes to be successful in their sport. At the end of the day, the S&C coach exists to help the athletes improve their performance. This is done by sharpening the physical tools their sport requires. For example, football players need muscle mass, strength, power, speed and agility. These are all qualities that the S&C coach can develop.
The S&C coach can make the athlete's training more functional by knowing the sport skills and movement patterns required to be successful in their given sport. If the S&C coach doesn't know what a sport like field hockey entails in terms of the required movements and actions, they can't do their job to the best of their ability. Same goes for position—an offensive lineman's responsibilities vary greatly from those of a wide receiver, and their training should reflect that. The better the S&C coach knows their athletes and what they'll be expected to do on game days, the better they'll be able to prepare them.

2. Preventing Injury

In addition to giving the athletes the physical tools to enable them to be successful, S&C coaches also have an important role in keeping athletes healthy. The most important ability is availability. Even if the athlete's injury doesn't keep them from competing, it will almost assuredly have a negative impact on performance.
Creating a base of functional strength is the first key to preventing injury. This is important because many injuries can be caused by a lack of strength. Many non-contact ACL injuries, for example, can be traced to weak hamstrings. Second, they can target specific motions and muscles to help prevent injuries. For example, imbalances in shoulder muscle contribute to rotator cuff injuries in throwing athletes. Finally, they develop fundamental skills whose absence can cause injuries. For example, if an athlete does not know how to land properly and often falls into knee valgus, then they are more likely to suffer a non-contact ACL injury.

3. Team-Building

S&C coaches train teams together. Ideally, the atmosphere should be one where everyone is working hard, together. Teammates push each other to reach their full potential and support one another through their struggles. They experience grueling workouts alongside one another and rally around a player as he attempts a PR.
Many athletes spend an enormous amount of time training with their team, and those sessions are where chemistry and camaraderie are built. However, an S&C coach can hamper this vital team-building time by doing things like playing favorites or not holding everyone to the same standard. The S&C coach must create and manage an atmosphere that helps the athletes come together as a team. A consistent set of expectations and rules goes a long way here, but being an ultra-strict disciplinarian all the time probably isn't the best idea. The best weight room environments include the right mixture of focus and fun for the athletes.

4. Core Values

The S&C coach has the ability to teach and reinforce core values that are critical to athletic success. These include hard work, consistency, expectations, accountability, discipline and leadership.
Let's start with expectations, accountability and discipline. We expect athletes to dress a certain way during S&C sessions. We expect them to be on time, to be where they're supposed to be, and to execute the exercises the way they've been taught. They should clean up after themselves and leave the weight room as they found it, if not in better condition. They should also be respectful and supportive to you, their teammates, and anyone else who happens to be in the weight room. If these things don't happen, then there should be consequences. A good S&C coach will pay attention to all of these things and react accordingly if the expectations aren't being met. A bad S&C coach lets these things slide, creating a culture where athletes feel like they're above expectations. This won't just carry over to their performance in practices and games, but also to the classroom and general life.
When it comes to leadership, coaches should always be on the lookout for athletes who exhibit strong leadership qualities inside the weight room. These qualities include working hard, paying attention to detail, encouraging their teammates and having great energy. This leadership can be rewarded with simple acts of recognition, such as allowing them to break down the huddle with a few words to the team after the workout. Yes, we want to build stronger, faster and more resilient athletes. But we also want to build athletes with great work ethic, accountability and enthusiasm. You could have the most athletically gifted team in the world, but if they don't have a set of core values guiding their actions, they won't come close to realizing their full potential.

5. Be a Person

The S&C coach spends more time with athletes than their sports coaches. The S&C coach sees athletes in very difficult, stressful, fatiguing situations. This combination of factors means your athlete may feel comfortable confiding in you, and it also means you have a great idea of their character.
Be supportive of your athletes. If they come to you for advice, do your best to provide good guidance, or point them in the direction of someone who can. Likewise, if you see an athlete who doesn't seem like themselves on a given day, don't be afraid to ask what's up. If you're doing your job as a coach, you know these kids and should have an idea of what makes them tick. You want them to be successful not only in the weight room, but in games and in life, in general. You shouldn't attempt to be every athlete's best friend, but if you're doing your job as an S&C coach, odds are that they respect you and respect your opinion.
Photo Credit: Wavebreakmedia/iStock]]>Strength TrainingWatch This NCAA Track Star Reach a Ridiculous 26 MPH on a Self-Propelled Treadmillhttp://orders.stack.com/a/watch-this-ncaa-track-star-reach-a-ridiculous-26-mph-on-a-self-propelled-treadmill
Jordan ZirmTue, 07 Aug 2018 10:00:08 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=293793
George Alexandris heads into his senior year of track and field at the small D-III Montclair State University in New Jersey already holding the title of national championship. In May, Alexandris hit 26 feet in the Long Jump during the Division III National Championships, the second-longest in D-III history. Over the weekend, he may have done something even more impressive.
[instagram src="https://www.instagram.com/p/BlzErJ7hufS"]
Alexandris posted a video to his Instagram depicting the New Jersey native hitting an absurd 26 miles per hour on a self-propelled treadmill. The video has since gone viral.
We're not aware of what the record is for this kind of thing, but if Alexandris doesn't have it now, he's damn close.]]>Sports HeadlinesWhy It's Better for Young Athletes to Lift 'Too Light' Rather Than 'Too Heavy'http://orders.stack.com/a/why-its-always-better-for-young-athletes-to-lift-too-light-rather-than-too-heavy
Jason BacigalupoTue, 07 Aug 2018 10:00:00 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=293783athletic development pyramid, an overemphasis on the amount of weight being moved can have deleterious effects on our athletes, especially the youngest ones. If we leave young athletes to their own devices inside the weight room, their natural competitiveness will take over. That often manifests as lifting too much weight before they're ready, result in poor form, reduced effectiveness, improper movement patterns and an increased risk of injury. So the exact opposite of everything we're looking to accomplish inside the weight room.
By channeling that competitiveness into a properly designed program and helping our athletes understand the importance of building a strong foundation, we position them for sustained success. By utilizing the following three simple principles with your young athletes, we'll develop the athletes we desire, boost on-field performance and reduce injury risk.

1. Build a Foundation

I'd never build a house by starting with the roof.
When a younger athlete (usually an 8th grader or rising 9th grader) enters the weight room for the first time, developing quality movement patterns should be our first priority. If programming three sets of 12 Goblet Squats is a useless endeavor for an older athlete yearning for strength development, then so too is programming five sets of 5 Back Squats for a young athlete who's never touched a barbell.
I prefer to start young athletes with a bodyweight program that challenges them in multiple planes and ranges of motion. During this initial training phase, they'll learn to squat, hip hinge, lunge and perform a push-up correctly before they ever get the chance to touch a weight. The following two workouts include a sampling of bodyweight exercises I like to incorporate with younger athletes to build a strong foundation of movement.

These 12 exercises challenge a young athlete's stabilization, strength and explosiveness through multiple planes and ranges of motion. They can be incorporated into a larger workout or done on their own as a circuit.
As body control and basic strength are mastered, we begin adding resistance. Bodyweight Squats become Kettlebell Goblet Squats. Exercises like Split Stance Dumbbell Rows and Dumbbell Bench Press are introduced. Some will advance faster than others, and that's OK. The goal is to focus on individual improvement, not adhere to arbitrary timelines or suppositions about where the athlete "should be." In time, they'll be confidently squatting and deadlifting a bar with great technique. And when they do start moving larger amounts of weight, they'll be able to get a ton more out of it thanks to the great foundation that's been built.

2. Set a Standard

The strength coach's job is to lead the weight room in a safe, effective manner. To do so, a set of unassailable rules should accompany our strength training programs. Adherence to technique is chief among them. For example, if an athlete cannot maintain good posture during a Deadlift or cannot squat to the appropriate depth, we must either lighten the weight or find them a more suitable exercise.
We also need to quickly identify imbalances and movement patterns that are a precursor to injury. Is there knee valgus during the Squat? Does the athlete appear to shift to one side during a Deadlift? Is the athlete pressing unevenly? In these scenarios, our attention to detail combined with lighter loads and appropriate exercise selection will help prevent our athletes from reinforcing bad positions or making imbalances worse. Establishing and emphasizing these principles with every athlete allows us to create a weight room culture that values quality over quantity. The last thing we want to do is create an environment where the athlete feels like they're failing if they're not moving a certain amount of weight.
You may receive pushback from a sport coach who would like to see the younger athletes lift heavier loads. But if the athletes aren't ready, tactfully hold your ground. In my experience, most younger athletes don't make significant contributions to the varsity team. There's no urgent need for them to lift heavy weights, certainly not before they've earned it and displayed the ability to do so. Take the necessary time to guide your athletes through the process and adjust their programs, up or down, according to their individual needs. Take pride in the foundation you build, knowing it will serve them well for the rest of their athletic career and beyond.

3. Check Your Ego

No one should be surprised that athletes find reasons to compete with one another. I'd be disappointed if they didn't—Iron Sharpens Iron, as the saying goes. But we don't want ego dictating the decisions of our athletes. That's how many young athletes end up going too heavy, too soon, drastically reducing the effectiveness of their training. Appropriate programming is the first step toward tempering the ego of a younger athlete.
Next, provide those younger athletes with a separate area of the weight room. It's easier for them to focus on their workout, work together and take ownership of their space. Note that this also makes things easier for us as coaches. We know exactly what they should be doing, and if they go off-script, we can quickly redirect. If you have the opportunity to work with your younger athletes in an entirely different session, even better.
Incentivizing individual improvement is another great way to encourage each athlete to work within their ability. Yes, the senior who correctly deadlifts 500 pounds is worthy of praise and a t-shirt. Equally worthy is the freshman who struggles daily to master the hip hinge until it eventually clicks. Such perseverance is invaluable—find ways to reward it. By keeping that freshman engaged in the process, he just might turn into your next senior who deadlifts 500 pounds.
Ultimately, strength training is an essential mechanism for enhancing the athletic ability of the athletes we serve. Developing our younger athletes requires us to place them in a position where they learn, grow and acquire skill. By using body weight and lighter loads initially, we proactively emphasize technique and safety, while building a solid foundation for future strength gains.
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]]>Strength TrainingHow to Run an Effective Youth Soccer Practicehttp://orders.stack.com/a/how-to-run-an-effective-youth-soccer-practice
Tyler TredwayMon, 06 Aug 2018 11:30:00 +0000http://blog.stack.com/?p=2937741. Always bring a positive attitude
This one is all on you, Coach. It's your job to bring life and energy to practice. If you bring a bad attitude or negative energy to the field, the kids will notice, and it will affect the enjoyment they get out of practice. When the kids aren't having fun, they won't give full effort. This is the recipe for bad, unproductive practices. Leave your outside life out at home and focus on using the short time you have with your athletes to make a positive impact in their lives. Do that and you'll find you frequently leave the field happier than you arrived.

2. Don't expect to find the next Pelé

The last thing that should be on your mind during practice is identifying a member of your team as the next great soccer superstar. Every child you coach matters just as much as the next. No one makes the national team as a 7-year-old, and different kids progress at different paces. If you truly want to help your players grow and develop, you'll give equal amounts of attention and instruction to each of them. This period of a player's athletic career is about fun. If you start putting extreme expectations and pressure on a talented kid, they can quickly lose their love of the sport. And if you ignore that kid whose skills aren't quite on the level of their teammates, you risk making them feel ostracized and unwanted. In both cases, the result is a kid who's likely to quit soccer before they reach their teens. Your job is to foster a love for the game and the lessons it can teach in our youth—not to be a talent scout.

3. Keep it simple; Let them play

Youth coaches often try to come up with fancy drills to make themselves feel like a developmental genius. Truth be told, you do not need complex drills and expensive equipment to run a successful youth soccer practice. All you need is a group of happy kids and a ball.
"Coaches can often be more helpful to a young player's development by organizing less, saying less and allowing the players to do more. Set up a game and let the kids play. Keep most of your comments for before and after practice and during water breaks," reads the U.S. Soccer pamphlet Best Practices for Coaching Soccer in the United States. "Kids need to be allowed to play freely, develop their skills and use them in a creative manner."
Get comfortable with holding practices that look like pick-up games. You can adjust the size of the field and the number of players per side to change the focus in these games, but simply allowing the kids to play and organically learn what does and does not work for them can be hugely beneficial.
When you do implement drills, try to make them simple enough that they can be coached with one or two key points. The simpler the drill is, the quicker the kids will be able to grasp the concept, making them more confident and aggressive. Youth players don't need to learn how to curve in a free kick or play a 60-yard driven pass. Teach them how to make efficient passes and shoot the ball on frame. Teach them how to trap the ball and get comfortable with basic dribbling. Teach them how to stay in front of an attacker and time a tackle. Help them learn how to keep their basic position throughout the game. Teach them what it means to "clear" the ball and when using that tactic might make sense. Giving these young players a good foundation of skill and knowledge will help them experience more success today and position them for greater development down the line.

4. Playing time matters, the score does not

This may be the most important thing to remember when coaching youth sports. This is a time for these kids to learn the sport, develop their skills, and build relationships. It's not the time for you to focus on building your coaching resume by doing whatever it takes to win games and tournaments. Don't utilize your youth soccer team to feed your ego or fulfill your glory days. Allow each player to play a similar amount of minutes and experience different positions. Never tell a player no when they want to play a new position or try something new. Foster creativity and allow your players to play with a sense of freedom. No one has fun if they're playing in constant fear of getting yelled at.

5. Communicate with both kids and parents

This one is going to save you a lot of headaches. You don't need to just communicate with the kids and their parents, you need to over-communicate with them. Keep the messages short and effective, but re-iterate them time and time again. Let them know what time practice is, what time they should arrive, when you'll be done, everything they'll need for games and practices, etc. Be proactive with your communication and you hopefully won't find yourself needing to explain things multiple times (though if you should, remain patient and professional).
From day one, communicate your goals for the season and the plan you have to achieve those goals to both kids and parents. Let them know that your top priority is keeping things fun and engaging for the kids. When you make your mission known from the outset, it makes conversations down the line a lot more simple. If you find that a parent is ruining the experience for the team (such as screaming from the sideline for the entirety of a game or practice), you need to take it on your shoulders to speak with them and address how their actions are hindering the goals of the team.
Be professional and caring with the parents, they're trusting their kids with you!
These five tips can go a long way toward helping you run an effective youth soccer practice. Additionally, here's a checklist you can use for each practice/game to make sure you're prepared:

A couple extra water bottles

Soccer balls

Cones for drills

A list of player names and parent names

Whistle

Different colored jerseys/pinnies to separate teams

Positive attitude and patience!

Here's a checklist you can provide the kids/parents, so they know what to bring:

Water

Shin Guards

Cleats

Athletic Clothing

You don't need fancy training apparatus to train youth soccer players. Regarding time commitment, how long should your practices be? Youth athletes should not be exhausted when they leave practice. They're there to have fun, and they have plenty of time to build "mental toughness" via conditioning drills later in life. Keep the practices to no longer than one hour. The first 5-10 minutes can consist of a dynamic warm-up, the next 20-25 minutes can consist of simple drills, and the remainder of practice can consist of scrimmaging and small-sided games.
The more time kids spend standing around during practice, the less beneficial the session will be. Try to organize the session so the kids stay involved and engaged as much as possible! Simply breaking them up into smaller groups and having each group perform a drill as opposed to having the entire team wait around for one kid at a time to complete a drill is a great method for this.
When it comes to the specific drills you'll want to implement, STACK has plenty of suggestions:

The most important thing to take away is let kids be kids and have fun! At this age, it doesn't matter how many games they win. Should you teach them to play to win? Of course. But focus more on their development and demeanor than the outcomes of the games. They've got their entire lives to take things more seriously. Focus more on teaching the children the sport and making it enjoyable for them. If they don't enjoy it, they won't stick around.
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